


Counting on a New Beginning

by crazygirlne



Series: Snowells Week 2019 [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Secret Relationship, Team Dynamics, fake not dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 05:48:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19267051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazygirlne/pseuds/crazygirlne
Summary: Caitlin and Harry pretend they aren't dating. Consequences come in the form of double blind dates.





	Counting on a New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Snowells Week, day 2!

Caitlin didn't let herself think about dating Harry, not until she was actually dating him. If she had thought about it, she would've figured it'd be easy, once they actually got together. They get along well, and they spend most of their days together as it is, so dating should hardly change anything.

The problem, though, is exactly that; dating doesn't really change anything, because they're always together, but the other members of Team Flash are always around, too.

Oh, they get to sneak a kiss here and there, and that's always amazing. There was a day last week when they managed to sneak away for a solid 20 minutes, and even though their clothing stayed mostly in place, Caitlin was weak in the knees afterward.

The team has just been too much. There have been some troublesome metas, of course, but Cisco, Barry, Iris, Joe… everyone has been around way more often than usual.

“Nobody even pretends they have actual jobs," Harry murmurs in her ear as he passes behind her to join Cisco at the computers. They work together on refining a scan, and then Caitlin and Barry go out and keep the bad guy from doing any permanent damage, and then it ends up Cisco and Caitlin in the Cortex while everyone else is occupied.

“I know what's going on," Cisco says, almost accusingly. 

There's no way he knows about her and Harry, right? They've been careful, keeping their relationship to themselves until they've gotten a chance to explore it a little. Caitlin would at least like to get laid before the team gets involved.

“You— What?" she manages.

“You and Harry. You've been acting weird, and I finally figured it out.” He pins her with a knowing look. “You're lonely."

“What?" Caitlin's confusion is more genuine now.

"You're lonely! And I get it. I'm with Cynthia, Barry and Iris are married, Joe and Cecille… and then there's you and Harry, and of course you're spending more time together, because you're both single. But what you really need is a date.”

"A date," Caitlin echoes, dazed by his enthusiasm.

She does want a date, but she wants one with Harry, and that doesn't feel like the direction this conversation is going.

“A date!” Cisco slaps the desk to punctuate his statement. “And don’t worry, we’ll make it a group thing so there’s less pressure.”

“Who am I supposed to go on this date with?”

“Well, there’s this guy who I guess Barry used to work with, and there was some falling out, but they’re good now. Turns out he’s even a meta, so, you know, you’ll have that in common.”

Caitlin blinks. “And Harry?”

“I think Joe and Cecille have some friend he might like. I just can’t picture him with a meta, which rules out basically every option I knew. Joe and Cecille aren’t coming; Joe started muttering about going out with kids, didn’t seem to think Harry being there would help.” Cisco shrugs. “Anyway. We’re going Friday. It’s already set up, so be ready.”

Cisco goes back to his computer, the matter apparently settled, and Caitlin stares. “Did Harry already agree?”

Cisco shakes his head. “No. But if you could warm him up for me, that’d be great. He listens to you and is more likely to go that way.”

She wanders off, feeling a little like she’s gotten run over. “‘No,’” she mutters to herself. “That’s all I had to say. I should practice saying it more.”

“I say it all the time.” Harry’s voice from behind her makes her jump. He waits until she’s recovered from the mild scare, then glances around before kissing her far too briefly. “What are you saying ‘no’ to?”

Caitlin scowls. “Cisco arranged blind dates for both of us. It’s all set for Friday. He and Barry and Cynthia and Iris are coming, too.”

Harry’s face is dangerously blank, and Caitlin feels her mood improving, amusement taking the forefront. 

“What.” His voice is too dry to sound like a question.

Caitlin chuckles. “That was basically my reaction, too. He thinks we’re lonely and need dates. I don’t think we’re gonna get out of it.”

Harry looks around again, making sure they’re still alone. “We could tell them we’re already dating each other.”

She shrugs. “We could, but you know they’ll leave us alone even less then. If we humor them this once, maybe we’ll get at least a week to ourselves. And at least with it being a team thing, we’ll still be out together. That’s  _ almost  _ like we’re getting to date.”

“It’s like we’re getting to date other people.” Harry scowls, but the expression fades as he watches her. “You’re really okay with this?”

“As long as you promise not to fall in love with your date,” she says lightly.

Harry smiles, that soft curve of his lips that makes her all tingly inside. “Impossible. I’m already in love with  _ you _ .”

***

Barry and Iris pick the place, and before Caitlin knows it, she’s at an Italian restaurant that’s attached to a bowling alley. They’re at a long table. Caitlin is at one end, with Harry next to her and Ralph Dibny across from her. They all sat down five minutes ago, and it’s already awkward enough that she’s ready to leave.

“So,” she tries, addressing Ralph, “how do you and Barry know each other?”

“From the CCPD,” he says. “It’s a funny story, really. There was this case, and… Well, what’s legal and what’s right aren’t always the same thing and I don’t work there anymore.” He pauses, looking at the woman next to him in a way that reminds Caitlin that Harry’s date isn’t a meta and isn’t aware of their Team Flash identities. 

To add insult to injury, the woman’s name is  _ Katie. _

Katie is going on about some romantic comedy she thinks was badly undersold, and Caitlin hasn’t even paid enough attention to know whether she agrees. She can feel Harry’s discomfort and the way he’s paying more attention to her than he is to his date. When the waitress comes to take their orders, Caitlin uses the distraction to squeeze his hand under the table. He looks at her in a way that begs for this date to be over, and she apparently looks at him so adoringly in return that the waitress assumes they’re together.

Caitlin quickly releases Harry’s hand while Cisco, who seems to find the very idea comical, corrects the waitress about who’s together and who’s not.

When everyone has ordered, she looks back across at Ralph, who’s smirking at her. He looks pointedly at Harry, who tenses, then back at Caitlin with a grin. She shakes her head and he mimes zipped lips.

“What do you do since leaving the CCPD?” she asks, desperate for anything to take the attention off herself and Harry.

“I’m a private investigator,” he says, waggling his eyebrows comically. “It makes me pretty good at reading people.”

“Oh yeah?” Caitlin asks, taking a sip of her water. 

“Yup!” Ralph answers proudly. He leans in, exaggerating a conspiratorial pose, and mock whispers, “Like I’m pretty sure Barry over there likes Iris.”

Caitlin laughs, surprised. She thinks she could probably like this guy, as a friend. As far as dating him, well…

“Harry,” she whispers to the man who’s looking unimpressed by Ralph’s joke, “your date just asked you a question.”

“Sorry,” he hisses back, not really trying to be quiet, “I was distracted by Disney over there.”

“It’s ‘Dibny,’ actually,” Ralph corrects.

Harry looks even less impressed than before.

“You know what?” Katie says, clearly fed up (and really, who could blame her?). “I’m not going to sit through a whole dinner worth of this.” She stands and walks away, leaving the three at her end of the table looking sheepish and the four at the other end looking confused.

“What just happened?” Cisco asks.

Harry and Caitlin exchange a look, but Ralph speaks before they can.

“I was kinda monopolizing the conversation,” he says apologetically, and yeah, Caitlin definitely wants to be friends with him. “Everyone left at the table knows about… meta things. Right?”

Ralph ends up scooting over to fill Katie’s vacancy so he can more easily chat with Cisco and Barry, who are tentatively offering him a spot on the team before the food even shows up. Iris and Cynthia are deep in a conversation about the best ways to track down leads, despite their differing goals once they find them. 

That leaves Harry and Caitlin.

Harry relaxes almost immediately once neither of them is having to interact with another date. Caitlin feels herself unwinding, too. They chat about science and about current events, conversation easy.

The only thing keeping it from being perfect is that Caitlin really wants to hold his hand, wants to lean against him with his arm around her, wants to kiss him until neither of them can think straight. She can tell from the way he leans toward her and the looks he keeps sending her that he feels the same.

Luckily, nobody else seems to notice, and after dinner, they head over toward the bowling alley. They have to cut through a couple hallways, and just before the second, Harry takes Caitlin’s elbow and tugs her gently to the side so that the team, already in the hall, can’t see them. He kisses her, suddenly and thoroughly, and Caitlin responds without hesitation.

“I’ve wanted to do this all night,” he murmurs before kissing her again. It feels like he’s about to pull away, so Caitlin cups the back of his head and pulls him closer. He makes a contented hum that’s almost a moan and backs her up against the wall to continue kissing her. His hand finds her waist and she arches into him and—

“What the hell?” Cisco sounds stunned.

Harry freezes, then lets his forehead rest against Caitlin’s, putting a little space between their lips.

“If we don’t open our eyes,” he says in much too even a tone, “maybe they’ll go away.”

“I don’t think it works that way.” Caitlin takes a breath and opens her eyes, turning to look toward Cisco.

He’s standing there with his mouth open. Barry looks similarly shocked. Iris and Cynthia look a little less surprised, while Ralph looks apologetic.

“I tried to get them to just wait for you,” Ralph says.

“Wait,” says Cisco, “you knew? How did you know? You met them like two seconds ago.”

“Yeah, but they’re really obvious.”

Cisco is still staring at Caitlin and Harry. “This isn’t your first kiss? I mean, I get it if the bad blind dates pushed you together but… You were already together?”

Harry sighs and straightens. “It’s new. We wanted to keep it to ourselves for a little bit.”

“I thought we weren’t keeping secrets.” Barry sounds wounded, and Iris pats his hand while fighting a grin.

Caitlin straightens too, and she takes Harry’s hand. He immediately laces their fingers together and softens, and she watches that fact register on the faces of the team.

“It’s new, huh?” Cisco asks, skeptical, but like he’s already forgiving them. “You’re like completely into each other. Ralph’s right about how obvious it is.”

Caitlin swallows. “It was building for a while, and then when I got stuck in that time loop, we figured it out.” She smiles up at him, then scowls at the team. “And we haven’t gotten a chance to go out even once since then.”

Iris sounds amused. “You know you might have been able to manage it if you’d actually told us.”

“I just… It felt like we’d have less time to ourselves, if everyone was in on it. I’m sorry.” Caitlin feels supportive pressure as Harry squeezes her hand.

“Okay, well…” Cisco sounds a bit more himself. “We should probably get to our lanes before we lose them.”

“Cisco…” Cynthia sounds exasperated.

“What?”

“Maybe,” she says, “they would like some time to themselves?”

“Oh. Right.”

Barry looks at Iris, the two of them having some sort of silent conversation. Iris speaks for them both.

“The team can manage without you for a few days, especially if we’ve got Ralph here to help. Don’t come in until at least Wednesday.”

Caitlin feels a rush of gratitude and a thread of embarrassment at how big a deal this ended up, but the embarrassment is quickly forgotten when Harry turns to her with a raised eyebrow and dark, heated eyes.

“If you insist,” she says, and they part ways so quickly that she and Harry are outside before she realizes they haven’t actually discussed a destination. “Where are we going?”

“Did you have anything in mind?” His gaze is scorching, and Caitlin swallows, shaking her head to clear it.

“Maybe we could enjoy a nice walk?” she suggests. “It’s a nice night. And if we happen to walk the direction of my apartment, we can definitely get some alone time there.”

She laughs as Harry kisses her in an uncharacteristically buoyant manner, his lips smacking loudly and repeatedly against hers, then once against her cheek as her laughter gets in the way.

“You, Snow,” he says finally, “are brilliant. We should always follow your suggestions.” He takes her hand and returns to his usual, composed self, though his eyes still glint with a hint of mirth.

Their walk is very nice on the pleasant evening, with city sounds and nature ones mingling and the moon and stars shining on them from far overhead, and it’s a wonderful addition to their first date.

The alone time in her apartment is even better.


End file.
